As the digital shift continues to move marketing communications to more direct and dialogue driven channels companies should adopt a simple methodology in identifying what will work for them and their consumers.  The dialogue idea is as unifying concept that aligns relationship or socially driven programs with other communications as a part of an integrated marketing approach. As more participatory channels for consumers are developed the need to establish consistent, non-campaign driven dialogue points becomes critical in the marketing mix.  These are not just limited to the direct channels, as we know them; (CRM, DM, email, websites), but really extend across any personal contact that can be associated to the “ brand experience”; customer and consumer services, in store demonstrations, events etc.

A real world experience with a brand is only mirrored in the participatory platforms online and this mirroring reflects the sentiments it arouses in real world conversations.

What ever the relationship or dialogue you want to create with consumers you must have a compelling offer or value exchange. Just as in the real world relationships, digital relationships require dialogue to sustain them.  A good dialogue idea serves as the over arching concept for that exchange.  In helping create a consumer relationship the dialogue idea should answer two simple questions. Why would a consumer want interact with you? And what value are you adding to their life, their interests, or their passions?

The reasons for the consumer / brand relationship need to be unpinned by consumer rational  and emotional needs.  Dialogue can be driven by what really matters or makes a difference to a consumer’s life or facilitate their passions. Whatever the offer,  it has to be tangible, real and add value.

Consumers are pre-disposed to dialoguing about a number of things.

They might want ;
To be a part of the future development of their brands they are passionate about.
To share their experiences.
To give and receive advice and learn from others.
To be the first to know or receive exclusive offers or privileges
To seek more information beyond the brand  (how to use it etc.)
To meet and belong to a community of people with similar interests

Relationships are long term. The success points you should consider in developing a dialogue driven program start with being able to sustain a dialogue across a community or programs for  along time rather than running a campaign and possibly include time driven campaign communications. You should also define the motivational points for a consumer to start a dialogue with your brand and your ideas should differentiate from other brand or companies in a unque way , there’s no point in replicating someone else’s idea or offer.  And,  lastly you should aim at supporting the dialogue across a number of consumer contact points.

A major change is taking place in the fields of communication and marketing. Mass communication is slowly losing ground to a more personalized dialogue between the brands and their consumers. This dialogue is terribly powerful on the Internet and has become an endless flow of conversations.

In the heart of this dialogue, an impressive quantity of information is shared on many of the blogs, forums, communities and other social networks that are active on the web. About two thousand platforms, forty million groups, and nearly five hundred million people are already involved in these different networks where passion is more important than any other rational factor.

These new open medias, which are available to everybody, have allowed the emergence of new opinion leaders called the “influencers.” Mostly non-professional, they are characterized by an enormous enthusiasm which doesn’t follow any rationale, and which can destabilize marketing specialists. Their style follows the Web 2.0 characteristics: participating, transparent, and open to critics. Totally independent, they are sometimes better-informed than some of the brand employees.

In this context, the role of marking evolves from being a unilateral message-sender to becoming a unifying force that sustains information-sharing, and that participates with the construction of a community around the brand.

The social medias are not the unique solution, and this evolution doesn’t mean the disappearance of the so-called traditional medias, but it rather implies a different approach in the use of the tools and channels available.

It is now unquestionable that brands have to work with an element that they have always been afraid of, the impossibility of totally controlling their image. Indeed, at this very moment, through internet everywhere in the world, people are giving advice on products, sharing their consumption experience, making suggestions, and calling for action. Brands simply cannot ignore these speakers.

This world is not virtual. The different actors in these interactions are real. Most of these long-lasting groups or communities have a life in the real world. This is not surprising, as human life has always been organized in networks, even well before the emergence of these technologies. It is therefore easy to understand why social medias that facilitate exchanges are so successful.

Finally, it is obviously not the recession that provokes this evolution; it is only accelerating a process that has already caused a deep transformation of the marketing and communication worlds. In this context, enthusiasm has become, more than ever before, a powerful engine to succeed this mutation.